SPDs do not have the same status as development plan documents, but have been produced and adopted by the council(s) following a formal process. They are material considerations when assessing development proposals.
We have also published additional guidance documents to assist in the interpretation of national and local policy when determining planning applications.
The SPDs and other guidance documents are listed by legacy council area below.
Westmorland and Furness
The following SPD is under preparation:
We are in the process of preparing a Design Code SPD for the whole council planning authority area (excluding those parts within the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks) that will set out the design standards we expect from new development.
More information can be found at Design Code for Westmorland and Furness
The following planning documents apply to the whole of the Westmorland and Furness local planning authority area:
- Cumbria Wind Energy Supplementary Planning Document - Part 1 (PDF, 771kb)
- Cumbria Wind Energy Supplementary Planning Document - Part 2 (PDF, 600kb)
The following guidance documents apply to the whole of the Westmorland and Furness local planning authority area:
- Cumbria Development Design Guide (PDF, 7.6mb)
- The Cumbria Good Lighting Technical Advice Note
- Cumbria Landscape Character Guidance and Toolkit - Part 1 (PDF, 4.5mb)
- Cumbria Landscape Character Guidance and Toolkit - Part 2 (PDF, 1.1mb)
- Cumbria Landscape Character Guidance and Toolkit Map Booklet (PDF, 9mb)
Barrow
The following SPD is under preparation.
- Final Draft Marina Village SPD (PDF, 3.3mb)
- Marina Village SPD Consultation Statement (PDF, 573KB)
- Schedule of Amendments - April 2025 (PDF, 314KB)
- Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) - December 2024 (PDF 10.2 MB)
This SPD provides detailed guidance for the development of a large brownfield residential site in Barrow in Furness known as Marina Village. The site is allocated in the Barrow Borough Local Plan and is in Council ownership. This SPD sets out a clear framework and principles for what is expected from the development at the site-wide level to deliver sustainable coordinated and comprehensive development that creates an exemplar place and a thriving community.
The draft SPD was subject to public consultation in August / September 2024, following this the responses were analysed and a number of amendments were made to the Draft SPD.
These amendments were then made available online and at Barrow Town Hall alongside the consultation statement and schedule of amendments for an advertised period of 4 weeks.
In December 2024 an update to the Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) for the site was produced. A small number of amendments to the SPD were proposed as a result of this update, and a 4 week consultation was undertaken in relation solely to these additional amendments in March 2025.
The Consultation Statement provides a summary of how the Council consulted on the Draft SPD at each of the stages above, the responses received and any changes that were made as a result of the consultation and the HRA update.
The Marina Village Residential Opportunity SPD will be endorsed for adoption at Cabinet in April 2025, and formally adopted as soon as possible afterwards.
The following SPDs were adopted by and apply to the former Barrow Borough Council area:
- Affordable Housing and Developer Contributions SPD (PDF, 747kb)
- Biodiversity and Development SPD (PDF, 2.63mb)
- Draft Green Infrastructure Strategy SPD (PDF, 6.4mb)
- Shop Front and Advertisement SPD (PDF, 2.8mb)
The following guidance documents were published by and apply to the former Barrow Borough Council area:
Eden
The following SPDs were adopted by and apply to the former Eden District Council local planning authority area.
- Shopfront and Advertisement Design SPD (PDF, 674kb)
- An Accessible and Inclusive Environment SPD (PDF, 1.79mb)
- Housing SPD - 20 April 2020 (PDF, 1.8mb) - provides detailed guidance on interpretation of policies that relate to housing in Eden Local Plan 2014-2032
- Management of Conservation Areas SPD (PDF, 1mb)
- 2010 Housing SPD (PDF, 1.2mb) - relevant in the judgement of planning applications on matters not covered by the 2020 Housing SPD
- North Pennines AONB Planning Guidelines SPD
The following guidance documents were published by and apply to the former Eden District Council local planning authority area:
- First Homes Position Statement (PDF, 337kb)
- Farm Diversification (PDF, 2mb)
- The Eden Design Summary (PDF, 134kb)
South Lakeland
The following SPDs were adopted by and apply to the former South Lakeland District Council local planning authority area.
Development Briefs
- East of Milnthorpe Road, Holme - Development Brief (PDF, 2.2mb)
- East of Milnthorpe Road, Holme Development Brief – Supporting Contextual Information Document (PDF, 2.2mb)
- Green Dragon Farm, Burton-in-Kendal Development Brief (PDF, 2.8mb)
- Green Dragon Farm, Burton-in-Kendal Development Brief – supporting Contextual Information Document (PDF, 1.6mb)
- North of Sycamore Close, Endmoor Development Brief (PDF. 2.1mb)
- North of Sycamore Close, Endmoor Development Brief – Supporting Contextual Information Document (PDF, 1.6mb)
- Land north of Laurel Gardens, Kendal Development Brief (PDF, 4.2mb)
- Land west of High Sparrowmire, Kendal Development Brief (PDF, 2.8mb)
- Land south of Allithwaite Road, Kents Bank, Grange-over-Sands Development Brief (PDF, 4mb)
- Land off Cross-a-Moor, Swarthmoor Development Brief (PDF, 1.2mb)
- Scroggs Wood, Kendal Development Brief (PDF, 2mb)
- Kendal Parks, Kendal Development Brief (PDF, 2mb)
- South of Underbarrow Road, Kendal Development Brief (PDF, 1.8mb)
- Stainbank Green, Kendal Development Brief (PDF, 2.7mb)
- North of Kendal Road, Kirkby Lonsdale Development Brief (PDF, 2.4mb)
- South and east of Milnthorpe Development Brief (PDF, 1.8mb)
- Croftlands, Ulverston Development Brief (PDF, 6mb)
Other SPDs
The following guidance documents were published by and apply to the former South Lakeland District Council local planning authority area.